Prince on......Bass?? You betcha!

[BloodRose]

Ill be honest. Thru the 80s and such, I wasnt much of a fan. Alot of my female friends were gaga over the guy and went to his concert and he came out and a bed and blah blah.. Then, the Batman synth period and alot of the music, I just dont care for.. HOWEVER... The dude had talent galore.. In recent years, Ive discovered that he really was a monster guitar player. And this clip, posted mostly for the bass bros out there, show he could tear up a 4 string too..

[Snake Aces]

Re: Prince on......Bass?? You betcha!

Prince could play so many instruments it's not really even fair to the rest of us who are trying to be musicians on only a few instruments. He was incredible!

[wahwah]

Re: Prince on......Bass?? You betcha!

I remember reading an interview in the early 90s with Levi Seacer Jr, originally bassist and then rhythm guitarist in Prince's band. He said that it was daunting to sit in a rehearsal room or in the studio, with a bunch of top level hired gun musicians, but at any time, the guy you're working for can come over and ask you to play something a specific way, and then demonstrate it to you on your chosen instrument and play it better than you could. Prince was deeply inspired by Stevie Wonder, particularly the fact that Stevie could play everything on his albums. This is why it's so ridiculous to hear people comparing Prince to the likes of Michael Jackson or Madonna as 'musicians.' It took 30 musicians, 6 songwriters, and Quincy Jones to make Thriller. Prince was perfectly capable of writing the songs, playing all the instruments, singing all of the vocals, and producing his own albums, which is exactly what he did on his first few. Jackson may have been more popular, but he was not in the same stratosphere as Prince as a 'musician.'

Plenty of people, including Stevie himself, Miles Davis, Maceo Parker, Larry Graham etc, knew while Prince was alive that he was beyond just a great musician of his generation, and more likely one of the greatest musicians who has ever lived. Understandably, what he produced was not to everyone's taste, nothing is. But the fact of his virtuosity and musical genius is beyond debate.



Cheers.................................... wahwah

[Snake Aces]

Re: Prince on......Bass?? You betcha!

I remember reading an interview in the early 90s with Levi Seacer Jr, originally bassist and then rhythm guitarist in Prince's band. He said that it was daunting to sit in a rehearsal room or in the studio, with a bunch of top level hired gun musicians, but at any time, the guy you're working for can come over and ask you to play something a specific way, and then demonstrate it to you on your chosen instrument and play it better than you could. Prince was deeply inspired by Stevie Wonder, particularly the fact that Stevie could play everything on his albums. This is why it's so ridiculous to hear people comparing Prince to the likes of Michael Jackson or Madonna as 'musicians.' It took 30 musicians, 6 songwriters, and Quincy Jones to make Thriller. Prince was perfectly capable of writing the songs, playing all the instruments, singing all of the vocals, and producing his own albums, which is exactly what he did on his first few. Jackson may have been more popular, but he was not in the same stratosphere as Prince as a 'musician.'

Plenty of people, including Stevie himself, Miles Davis, Maceo Parker, Larry Graham etc, knew while Prince was alive that he was beyond just a great musician of his generation, and more likely one of the greatest musicians who has ever lived. Understandably, what he produced was not to everyone's taste, nothing is. But the fact of his virtuosity and musical genius is beyond debate.



Cheers.................................... wahwah

Very well said, thank you

[dave74]

Re: Prince on......Bass?? You betcha!

And he could do the "james brown" splits lol. No wonder he had a bad hip and was in pain./ I'd be in the hospital on my first attempt.

[MetalManiac]

Re: Prince on......Bass?? You betcha!

I remember reading an interview in the early 90s with Levi Seacer Jr, originally bassist and then rhythm guitarist in Prince's band. He said that it was daunting to sit in a rehearsal room or in the studio, with a bunch of top level hired gun musicians, but at any time, the guy you're working for can come over and ask you to play something a specific way, and then demonstrate it to you on your chosen instrument and play it better than you could. Prince was deeply inspired by Stevie Wonder, particularly the fact that Stevie could play everything on his albums. This is why it's so ridiculous to hear people comparing Prince to the likes of Michael Jackson or Madonna as 'musicians.' It took 30 musicians, 6 songwriters, and Quincy Jones to make Thriller. Prince was perfectly capable of writing the songs, playing all the instruments, singing all of the vocals, and producing his own albums, which is exactly what he did on his first few. Jackson may have been more popular, but he was not in the same stratosphere as Prince as a 'musician.'

Plenty of people, including Stevie himself, Miles Davis, Maceo Parker, Larry Graham etc, knew while Prince was alive that he was beyond just a great musician of his generation, and more likely one of the greatest musicians who has ever lived. Understandably, what he produced was not to everyone's taste, nothing is. But the fact of his virtuosity and musical genius is beyond debate.



Cheers.................................... wahwah

well, he wasn't no Jimmy Page, but yeah, if funk is your bag, then yeah,Prince was all that.

[wahwah]

Re: Prince on......Bass?? You betcha!

well, he wasn't no Jimmy Page, but yeah, if funk is your bag, then yeah,Prince was all that.

If you think Prince was just about funk, it only means you don't know enough about Prince. Pagey is great, but I tend to think he was at his best with Bonham and Jones around. An odd comparison, really.


Cheers................................. wahwah

[Vasshu the humanoid typhoon]

Re: Prince on......Bass?? You betcha!

Been a fan since back then in the 80's.....
Still remember an interview they did with Steve Vai, where he had heaps of praise for the mans skills on guitar and such, so much talent and skill in such a small person....
The world is poorer by his absence.